A Glimpse of Death
by Illusions of Insanity
Summary: Her father was the nephew of death itself. Sleep and Death were merely twins. Maybe that explained why she always resigned that death to come for her. Maybe that was why she never feared death. Thanatos wasn't an enemy to Isabella Holly. That didn't make seeing him so many times any easier. (oc fic; slight canon speculation)


_Author's Note: Usually, I save my notes for last. However, I just wanted to say that this is an au fic based on my ocs, who have a story of their own planned for the future. I wanted to write something about Thanatos (I love writing about underappreciated gods) and so I decided to my demigod kid Isabella Holly who has had_ many _close encounters with death instead of one of the seven. The au only comes in towards the end, which has some vague Apollo arc endgame speculation._

 _With that all out of the way, I sincerely hope that you read and enjoy this little oneshot!_

* * *

 _The First Glimpse_

* * *

She still couldn't believe what she was doing, even as the wind was knocked from her lungs and the faintest sound of glass shattering reached her from somewhere above her. She could see the hilt of her sword now burrowed into its skull, red staining white fur as the strange hellhound howled with agony. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. A faint purple haze drifted around her and the monster's face, carrying the faintest scent of lavender and chamomile and perhaps a hint of valerian—it was a scent that her father seemed to have, a stranger earthy scent of a plant used even by the ancient Greeks to promote sleep. Numbly, she weaved her fingers through the mist, willing it to travel to the hellhound and put it to sleep for good, to finally succumb to its numerous wounds her friends had given it.

 _"Death and Sleep are merely twins,"_ he had said within a dream. She tried to avoid him, but being the daughter of Morpheus meant dreams were always his realm, not hers. _"Dreams...well, they are Death's nephew. You do understand, don't you?"_

 _"I'd understand better if you spoke plain English instead of riddles,"_ Isabella Holy had spat back as she jumped from rock to rock in a black abyss.

Morpheus had just smiled a sleepy, sad sort of way. _"If only I could,"_ he had sighed. _"If only..."_

Now, as she fed the sleep inducing mist to her enemy as she slowly slid down the edge of the ten story building, she prayed she had been right. The small piece of ambrosia in her mouth would only go so far, and she couldn't squander it. No, she had to conserve as much as possible. That's why she only broke off a small piece of that piece and swallowed _that_ , holding the rest in the forefront of her mouth with her tongue. The faintest taste of bittersweet dark chocolate brownies filled her mouth, reminding her of home. Not _this_ home, not blustery Chicago with its convoluted streets and tiny apartment complexes and promised jobs that fell through leaving them stuck in a big city with no secure financial future, no. It reminded her of a small town in Indiana where the population was under five thousand and you knew all the same people your whole life and yet still couldn't connect with any of them. Where you could run through a field and come back with wildflowers stuck to your clothes. A horrible burning in her chest dimmed and she wished that it would go away.

Then she looked down and realized that she was about to meet the sidewalk. Home or not, she didn't want to die here, either. So she swallowed the spit that had disintegrated part of the ambrosia and hoped it would be enough to survive a fall from twenty feet—she was thankful that the White Hound hadn't tossed her to the top of the building when they crashed into it. No way could she survive a ten story drop.

She moved her shield away from her so she wouldn't be impaled by the edges and debated on whether it was best to land on her back or her stomach when she hit the ground with a crack. She immediately swallowed half the ambrosia and felt a burn go down her throat as she experienced a searing pain in her bones before it ebbed again. A thump followed and her eyes drifted to her right to find the hellhound crashing to the ground before evaporating into a cloud of golden dust. The gargantuan collar hit the asphalt street and her sword followed it. Isabella smiled just a bit. At least their impromptu quest had been a success.

The she saw the reflection of what looked like shards of sunset above her in the reflection her shield. She hurriedly lifted her arms to shield her back, her shield protecting her head and neck while her bleeding left hand laughably tried to protect her back. Hot nails stabbed her back and she swallowed the last of her ambrosia just as the wave of pain hit. She didn't care about embedding the glass in her skin. All she cared about was cradling the line between life and death as tightly as she could.

The edges of her vision started to turn black and fuzzy. She could no longer smell plants. Instead, Isabella could only smell blood. Numbly, she thought of the friends she had managed to drag on this doomed quest. Zach, the son of Hecate, Cory, the son of Apollo, Sophia, the daughter of Ares, and Dimitri their kind satyr guide... An unofficial quest party made of demigods of both minor and major gods. Morpheus had requested it that way. He wanted to try and unite Camp Half Blood's cabins after the Titan War, a war they hadn't even seen save Dimitri. Would they carry the collar back as proof of their battle? She certainly couldn't.

She hoped they were safe...

Isabella blearily looked ahead to catch a glimpse of a man standing before her. A tall figure cut through the haze, clear despite her fading vision. While mostly covered in a dark robe, she could clearly see a pair of dazzling gold eyes staring back at her. Complimenting his eyes was his dark skin and almost black hair. While he seemed more lean than muscular, his appearance was quite striking. In fact, she might even say he was _breathtakingly_ handsome.

Another wave of numbness washed over her. She knew who he was.

"...death," she murmured weakly. She couldn't feel anything now, not even numb. "You're Thanatos."

"That I am," the god confirmed, his eyes narrowing, though seemingly not out of unkindness. "...It's been a while since a demigod has called me by name."

Isabella wanted to smirk, though she could no longer feel her face. "...am I..."

Thanatos stepped closer. "Not quite. Using ambrosia like that...quite clever." It almost appeared as if he were smirking. "I'll simply have to come back later."

Her world turned black just as her friends started to run to her and call her name. She closed her eyes with ease.

* * *

 _Second Glimpse_

* * *

How she continued to find courage, she never knew.

Only in hindsight did Isabella realize that her father Morpheus had been trying to unite the demigods before Gaea awoke to exact revenge. Had he known she would wake? The gods claimed ignorance, though the timing and impatience he had possessed then had made her believe that maybe he had known. Maybe Hecate too, though she had never met her boyfriend's mother—and neither had he.

Now Romans and Greeks alike were fighting to destroy ancient Roman emperors to stop them from using the powers of prophecy to rule over all. Oh, and restore Apollo to godlyhood. She supposed that were rather important as well. Now the fallen god was fighting Nero inside of a massive skyscraper. The old burn scar on her lips ached from her biting it so much. She hadn't been in a battle this important since Gaea. She got a strange thrill out of it; like she was making up for the times she hadn't fought, when she hadn't known about what she truly was.

Zach was somewhere on the far side, using his magic to shield the injured and deter opportunistic attackers. With her sword and shield at her command, she instead tore through the monstrous ranks, using her sleep-inducing cloud to disarm before slicing through and turning them to dust. While her and her boyfriend hardly fought together, she still prayed for his safety.

Isabella Holly instead did as much as she could. If she could kill a strange hellhound hybrid at sixteen, she could kill a bunch of monsters at eighteen. Cutting through hoards of strange monsters she couldn't remember—despite her chats with the Roman son of Morpheus, she could not recall their names—she tried to clear the streets.

She only faintly heard a whizzing sound before an arrow pierced her chest through a small gap in her armor. Her cloud of sleep exploded into fragments knocking out anything with a ten foot radius. Her knees buckled as she desperately clutched at the arrow. She needed to remove it before she could try to eat any ambrosia. But the shaft was slick with blood and her palm simply slid away and fell to the concrete. Blue eyes desperately looked up at the top floor, where Apollo was fighting. Not now. She had to see the battle to the end—

"I told you that I would come back later, did I not," Thanatos asked from behind her. His voice was level but not emotionless. Instead it was quite calming. "You've fought rather admirably, though now it is time for you to rest."

"Please...let me live until the fight is over," she begged, though her lungs burned and her chest felt like it was filling with hot water. "I want to see it to the end..."

She heard nothing but a faint ringing in her ears for several moments before the god of death finally spoke. "...I will permit it. Though I will shadow you until the very moment a victor is decided. Once that happens, your soul leaves."

Isabella nodded and suddenly a cold wind cut through her. She gasped for air and stared at her feet to find she had a shadow, something so trivial and yet the first she had ever had. She assumed her lifelong lack of a shadow was from her father, as he seemingly lacked one as well. Her knees shook as she rose to her feet and gripped her sword tighter. She ran a bloodied hand through her short black hair before she hurriedly finished off the monsters she had knocked out.

From then on she fought as if a wildfire, recklessly tearing through enemy ranks and slashing foes apart with little regard for her own wellbeing. She was to die anyhow, so she might as well do as much damage as she could. Once or twice she tried to put a monster to sleep, only to find her sleeping cloud had morphed into something far more powerful. Where it has once simply ushered a for into sleep, now a single breath would kill them. Upon discovery, she turned her head to try and look behind her, as if Thanatos were hovering behind her. Instead she simply saw the devastation she had helped carve in the enemy ranks.

"Are you...helping," she asked weakly, her voice hoarse as if she had been without water for days.

"Me? Help a demigod do battle to save possibly Mount Olympus's future," he asked in a gasp, though it almost seemed...humorous in tone. "Absolutely not. The god of death would not interfere," he lied. "I am simply waiting to collect your soul."

And so, Isabella fought on, never troubled by death's looming. Instead she fought on unperturbed. Once she had caught a glimpse of the archer who maimed her. She moved to end him before realizing his aim was fixated on Will Solace, head of Apollo's cabin and half brother to her friend Cory. He was too preoccupied with carrying an injured demigod away from trouble. There was no possible way for him to notice in time. So, she did something stupid.

She ran in and intercepted the arrow.

Isabella reached out towards the arrow as it whizzed past, as if she could catch it with her bare hand. Despite her efforts, her aim was short. The tip cleanly passed through her right arm until all that was visible was the fletch. Remarkably, the daughter of Morpheus felt nothing. Will turned around, absolutely horrified. "Isabel," he shouted, using the nickname she preferred over her actual name. His face was pale from strain and the many gruesome sights he had to endure as a healer. "Dear gods, those arrows! How are you even standing?" He tried to pull her over towards the other wounded, but she stepped back.

"No time," she insisted. Her voice was hardly a whisper. She left before he could press the matter further.

She had accepted death.

After what felt like days, the battling seemed to dwindle. The stormy grey skies above rumbled before abruptly a blinding golden light cut through the clouds, rising from the rooftop and pushing back the grey. Isabella stared at the light in shock before weakly smiling. Apollo had done it. His godhood was restored. The young demigod staggered in to the center of the street, where others were cheering excitedly.

Zack, with his deep brown skin tone, lively dark eyes and black hair, was a handsome and quite welcome sight as he ran over to talk with his girlfriend. Her chest hurt despite the wounds she had acquired. She hadn't wanted him to see her like this.

His joy died when he realized what state she was in. "Izzy! What...What happened?!" He tried to pull her closer but his hands stopped short. Instead they shook in the air as he stared, his eyes filling with tears. "H-Hang on! I'll get Will and..."

Isabella Holly collapsed in the middle of the road. She fell on her back and stared up as Zack frantically started calling for help, though she heard nothing. Her vision started to blur. It painfully reminded her of last fall, when she had killed the hellhound and nearly died trying. There's wasn't any ambrosia to squander now. Death was inevitable.

The cold that lingered on her spine pulled away and suddenly Thanatos loomed above her. "Victory has been reached," he told her. "It's time for you to go."

The demigod weakly reached up before suddenly several other crowded around her, distracting her for a moment. Her hand fell to her stomach and Thanatos frowned. Zack motioned Will closer. "Right here," he said, his words sounding faint and waterlogged. "Please, you have to do something!"

The other demigods became a blur as the golden light appeared again, blinding the world for an instant. When it faded, out walked Apollo, glowing radiantly despite the cloudy weather, his bow once again slung on his back. Behind him trailed a young girl and something that looked similar to a cupid from a greeting card, only made of _peaches_ of all things.

Zack turned his attention to the restored god and started pleading with him. While the words were unintelligible, the expressions on their faces made Isabella believe that perhaps he was asking the god to heal her. Meanwhile a conflicted Will Solace kneeled over her, carefully cutting the shaft of the arrow in her arm so he could pull it out without forcing the tip to go through her again. Behind him stood Nico di Angelo, a son of Hades she had crossed paths with once while dream hopping. She knew he took a personal effort to keep the dead in line, though he seemed rather disinterested in her despite her being on an asphalt deathbed.

Apollo kneeled beside his son and moved to touch the arrow embedded in the girl's chest. A cold whirlwind circled her and the demigods in the crowd stepped back, sensing something dark hovering there. While they stumbled back, Thanatos stood before Apollo.

She had never noticed he had wings. She wondered how she had ever missed them; with their black, dark blue and deep purple plumage, they were quite pretty. That wasn't even counting how they were almost as wide as he was tall.

"Don't, Apollo," Thanatos said, his voice as level and cool as always. "She died quite a while ago. I simply allowed her to see the battle's end. She will be leaving with me to the Underworld."

Apollo's face almost seemed pitying. Perhaps his time as a mortal had made him realize that painful struggles of mortality. Perhaps he had learned sympathy, if only for a little while. "...Did she promise on the River Styx," Apollo asked rather slyly.

Thanatos spread his wings a little wider in surprise. "No, she did not. Though she knew the consequences and was accepting of them."

"Without the Styx, it's not binding," Apollo said. "Therefore _I_ can heal her and _you_ will have to wait a little longer for this one."

Thanatos stood very, very still. "...This is why your son was banished in that hole," he muttered. "One cannot simply bring people back from the dead. I was only recently reinstated to the Doors of Death and I _enjoy_ keeping my job."

Now Apollo was clearly grinning. "She's not dead yet if you haven't taken her soul."

Thanatos looked down at Isabella and narrowed his eyes. "Once was humorous. Twice is bothersome. Next time we meet, you _will_ die, Isabella Holly. No more ambrosia tricks. No more godly healing."

"...I'll...go...willingly," she rasped, so quiet only the gods could hear her.

Thanatos left in a shadowy swirl to go collect souls elsewhere. Isabella closed her eyes just as Apollo reached for the arrow again, his fingers glowing brilliantly in a warm, soothing shade of gold reminiscent of honey.

* * *

 _Third Glimpse_

* * *

She really needed to start watching her flanks while out saving demigods.

Her husband Zack had never stopped going to Detroit to try and rescue demigods trapped with one of the most infested areas of monsters in the nation. Every time, she would go with him. They liked to avoid combat if they could help it. Instead they focused on sneaking kids out who otherwise would have fallen victim to a nasty pair of claws or teeth. It made their trips faster and with much less injury.

This time she had come alone, with Zack back at Camp Half Blood with their two amazing legacy children. After the events of Apollo's mortality stint, Chiron had started to enroll legacies as well, as quite a few Greek demigods were surviving long enough to have families of their own. After two Titan wars and a war against immortal Roman emperors—and a few other armageddons depending on who you asked—nothing could stop this generation of demigods from thriving. They were a resilient bunch.

How resilient they were against hydras had yet to be determined.

Isabella dodged out of the way just as acid hit the pavement where she had just stood moments ago. She had sent the children ahead with a satyr; she would meet them after she slayed an annoying hydra. The reptilian nightmare snapped with its three heads before trying to claw her, which was less effective than biting. The woman started circling it, trying to remember how she could kill a hydra. Decapitation was out of the question for obvious reasons. Putting it to sleep didn't seem effective, either.

Another head snapped for her and Isabella immediately blocked it with her golden shield before bashing it away. Her father Morpheus had gifted it to her before her first quest and somehow after nineteen years, it still was in admirable condition. She started moving faster around it, hoping to maybe disorient the creature while she tried to remember how to destroy it. All of its heads followed her, its long body only stepping occasionally to keep her in view.

Gods! Why couldn't she remember how to kill that thing?

Fire! She needed fire to burn the stumps after she cut their heads. Then it could not regrow.

Unfortunately, Isabella remembered a little too late. The hydra, now sick of spinning in circles, spat acid in a wide arc in the demigod's direction. She nobly blocked the first strike with her shield, though the acid quickly corroded the metal, forcing her to throw it aside and try to attack instead. Just as she looked up from her ruined shield, a second head spewed more.

All she could feel was her skin burning beyond definition, the feeling as if it were melting passing through her face and causing her to buckle. She tried to force herself to stand up when a pair of claws raked through her stomach and sent her sprawling on her back. She weakly looked up to find Thanatos standing over her, his golden eyes showing no emotion.

"Isabella Holly, it's time for you to go." His voice was calm but she could see the gleam in his eyes that dared her to refuse.

To his surprise, the woman simply reached straight for him. "Okay. I'm ready."

Thanatos raised an eyebrow. "...No tricks," he asked with suspicion.

"No tricks," she promised. "I've never wanted to trick you. I don't fear you."

Thanatos clearly smirked. "That seems a foolish idea for a demigod."

"Perhaps," she said with a smirk of her own. "But I've always been a very foolish demigod." She outstretched her fingers and reached for Thanatos's hand.

The god of death stared before narrowing his eyes at the hydra behind him, which seemed to be trapped in time. "...I've been sent to collect _that_ as well," he said, the smirk still on his face. With a few deliberate steps, he calmly approached it and tapped it on one of its noses. The monster instantly burst into dust, the golden gains swirling around him before dissipating into nothingness. He then walked back and reached out for her hand. "Now that everything is in order..."

Isabella let her fingers touch his and was pleasantly surprised by the warmth. Everything else felt so cold, she expected death to be nothing less. Thanatos gently took her hand and pulled her upwards. The woman stood up and looked over her shoulder to find herself lying on the asphalt, her face horribly mutilated by the acid and her shirt bled straight through. For a mere moment, she felt worry. "...Will they be okay," she asked.

Thanatos used his free hand to pull out a black iPad and open some document. He scrolled for a few moments before shaking his head. "Oh no, I'm not scheduled to visit those three for many, many years. They'll be more than fine."

Isabella gave a relieved smile before staring at her corpse again. "But..my..."

"And I won't be seeing them for a great many years, either," Thanatos interrupted. "It looks as if you'll be alone in the Underworld for quite some time."

His words brought a grin to her face. He shook his head in good humor before putting his tablet away. "Well then, it's time for you to go." He offered her his other hand to take as well.

She took it without hesitation and the world blurred into a much darker scene. Thanatos released her hands and motioned her to a line of souls waiting for Charon's ferry. "You do have a drachma, don't you?"

Isabella reached for her neck and lifted a necklace into view. She effortlessly popped out the gemstone resting in the amulet and revealed a golden coin hiding inside. She placed the coin in her palm and replaced the precious stone. "Had one waiting since before the fight with Gaea. Though, I expected to be killed by a Roman demigod that day and not have to fight servants of a Titan," she mused. "I never thought I'd live through a Titan war," she admitted.

The god of death chuckled. "You're a clever one," he praised. "Most demigods are always running from death. You just seem to expect it."

Isabella smiled faintly. Thanatos looked back at the exit from the Underworld. "I must be taking my leave now. Good luck with your boat ride, Isabella Holly." He turned to leave but Isabella reached out before he could, her hand hovering over his cloak.

"Thanatos. When you see my father again, could you give him a message for me, please," she asked gently.

He smirked. "And why would you think I would see your father," he asked.

"Morpheus. You're the twin of his father, Hypnos and thus, his uncle. You're bound to see him eventually."

Thanatos shrugged. "Seeing as you haven't exactly had a last request, I'll relay a message for you. What do you want him to know?"

Isabella gave a small, faint smile. "Please tell him I said thanks for the shield."

Thanatos raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?"

"He'll know what I mean," she replied.

Thanatos said nothing more. Instead he turned and started to walk away before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Thanatos reappeared on the same street he had been on moments ago, much to his surprise. He looked ahead to find the body of Isabella Holly exactly as it was, her face fixed into a small smile. Beside the corpse stood a figure concealed in a black, almost leathery cloak, his body shimmering and fading as if nothing more than a mirage. His skin had an almost deathly pallor which was further made noticeable by his shockingly white hair and dark attire. The man stood grimly over the body, his bright blue eyes examining her with slumped shoulders.

Sympathy flashed for a mere instant before he walked towards him. "Morpheus," he called gently.

The god of dreams did not move, though he lifted his head ever so slightly. Thanatos stood next to him, standing by his mourning nephew in silence. Morpheus had not had demigod children in quite a long time. Isabella was the first child of Morpheus to live and die within several decades. All that remained was his Roman son in California.

"...How did she die," Morpheus asked in a whisper.

"Quite peacefully," Thanatos reassured him. "She came without complaint. The hydra may have been an unfortunate way to pass, though the monster now resides in Tartarus once again." He remained silent for a moment before looking at Morpheus again. "She wanted me to deliver a message to you," he said quietly.

Morpheus lifted his eyes from his daughter's body and looked at his uncle. "...What is it," he asked.

"...She said 'thanks for the shield'," Thanatos told him. "She claimed you would understand what that meant."

Morpheus stared at the shield tossed on the street. What had once been a golden shield decorated with the engravings of Morpheus's symbols—a crown floating above a closed eye while underneath grew five poppies—was now cut and chipped in several locations, signs of fatal blows that it had blocked. The rest was burned away by the acid, making it seem brittle. The god of dreams stared at it before a small, sad smile breached his mournful face.

"I gave that to her before I gave Isabel her first quest," he said quietly. Curiously, he too used her nickname. "She hated me at first. She thought that I only acknowledged her when I wanted something and that I only saw her as a means of doing my bidding. I sent her to kill that hellhound hybrid in Chicago."

"Ah yes, I met her then," Thanatos said. "She nearly died when it threw her off. Still haven't seen a demigod willing to use ambrosia in such a manner."

Morpheus's eyes flashed with guilt. "I wanted her to form a party of demigods from both major and minor gods to fight it. I...I wanted to give them a chance to prove that the children of the minor gods were on the same side. I wanted...to heal the rift Hecate and I made by joining Kronos. Maybe...maybe I was selfish. I also wanted my own name cleared. I wanted to show that I was on the side of the Olympians."

"Did you know," Thanatos asked after a moment.

Morpheus sighed. "I could feel something, but I never thought Gaea would have found a way to wake up."

The two stood in silence before Thanatos stepped away. "...She did good things," he told Morpheus. "I'm certain the judges will reward her for that."

This seemed to ease Morpheus, but only slightly.

"...I am sorry for your loss." Thanatos then left to reap another soul, leaving the empty husk and a mourning father behind.


End file.
